First Steps
by gothicbutterfly95
Summary: All Nessarose's first steps had been figurative. Until one day...


Nessarose Thropp had taken many first steps throughout her life; a fact that would probably surprise many people.

As the Governor's daughter she had always been popular topic of conversation throughout the land of Oz. But unlike any daughter of any Governor there ever was, or ever would be, Nessarose was talked about for an entirely different reason. She had been irreversibly crippled since birth, and had never been able to walk. Nobody could miss a waifish young girl permanently seated in a chair with wheels.

Being Frexspar Thropp's daughter and the future Governor of Munchkinland she was often surrounded by people, all of whom were always overly attentive.

But when she was alone there were whispers.

People tried to disguise them, but Nessa still heard. She could hear the muffled whispers of tragic accidents and deceased mothers and the hushed murmurs of things she would never achieve.

But she _had_ achieved things. She had taken many first steps. True, they had all been purely figurative, but they had still each carried with them their own sense of accomplishment.

At least that was what she had always told herself.

* * *

For Nessa, going to Shiz had been her first chance at independence. Well, as independent as she would ever get. It was the first time she had been away from home. The help she had received was no more than any other time in her life. And in that new environment, it actually translated to being less.

The party at the OzDust Ballroom; her first social event. But that first step was about more than a mere Munchkin. It was her first chance at being normal. Nessa had long ago realised that she never would be completely normal, but that night was the closest she would ever get.

Fabala heading off to see the Wizard. It was the first time in her entire life that they had been apart. And then she didn't return, and, desperately hard as it was, Nessa had continued on without her sister, and proved that she could.

Losing her father and becoming Governor were significant not just for Nessa, but the whole of Munchkinland. In the middle of a time of grieving, the citizens had to accept that their new leader was disabled; an entirely foreign prospect. The whispers from earlier in her life returned, and Nessa was determined to show she was just as capable as anyone else.

Passing her first law was when she believed she had achieved that. Until then she had been Governor in title only. Taking action made people realise she wasn't to be underestimated, and it made it real to her, rather than just a game of make-believe. A law was her first step to be treated like she should, as a politician rather than a girl who couldn't walk. Because, whether the Munchkinlanders liked it or not, she was in charge.

* * *

Celebrating her 'first steps' had always been her coping mechanism; her way of dealing with her disability. For the most part it proved to be very effective.

But every so often something happened and the reality would set in. And it was always painful.

The day her sister emerged from the wardrobe seemed no different at first, but would in fact be a monumental part in both of their lives.

* * *

It wasn't the fact that Elphaba had turned up out of the blue that bothered her. Three years apart could not change the eighteen that had preceded them, and in her own way, Nessa had always loved her sister.

It wasn't even that she had said she was glad that their father had died. Fabala had never been a cold hearted person. Standoffish, snarky and opinionated definitely, but never wicked in the way the media portrayed. If their roles had been reversed and she had been the green one, Nessa wasn't sure she wouldn't have felt the exact same way. She knew the spite her sister felt for their father was clearly the result of nurture, not nature.

It was what she asked of her. When she had crouched in front of her, pleading, begging her for help, Nessa had had enough.

"Why should I help you?" she demanded angrily. "You fly around Oz trying to rescue Animals you've never even met, and not once have you ever thought to use your powers to rescue me."

She rolled towards Elphaba, in an attempt to appear intimidating. But this affected Elphaba very little, who did nothing but back up towards the far wall, out of the path of the chair.

"Nessa," she protested. "There isn't a spell for everything; the power is mysterious."

Nessarose had stopped listening almost immediately. It was just like Elphaba to do this. Her condition was much more serious and they both knew it. Her sister's verdigris had made her despised by their father and ostracised by all of Oz, but Nessa could not walk!

And then there was Elphaba's other talent. Her weird quirk; a cause for much strife in the Thropp household, but was undoubtedly a wielder of enormous power. And here she stood, attempting to justify never helping her because the power was 'mysterious.'

Nessarose wanted none of it.

"It's not just like cobbling up a pair of-"

Elphaba's voice trailed off and she dropped to the ground. When Nessa turned back to face her, she was bent over that spell book of hers, chanting.

"What are you doing?" Nessa asked. Elphaba didn't respond, so she asked again, only to have her words cut off when she felt a sharp pain in her feet.

A scream ripped from her throat.

The closest analogy that Nessarose's pain-addled brain could form was fire. 'This must be what it feels to be burned alive' she thought. It was certainly hot enough. It also felt tight, as though the shoes themselves were shrinking and her feet were far too big to fit them properly.

Then just as quickly as it had begun, Elphaba stopped chanting and the pain ended. Nessa's feet were no longer on fire, and felt exactly as they had before Elphaba had started the spell.

The shoes however, were forever changed.

She stretched her legs out, almost as a gesture to Elphaba; a plea for her to explain what in Oz had just happened. As she did, her left foot, clad in a ruby slipper rather than a silver shoe, struck the ground.

From there it was like magnetism. Her right foot followed and Nessarose Thropp took her next first step.

Her first literal one.

She stood where she was for a clock-tick before her body, unused to the position she was now in, collapsed in front of her sister.

Nessa saw a green hand reach towards her, but that wouldn't deter her.

"No," she told Elphaba, her voice soft, but firm. She had to do this on her own. Now that it was possible; now that Elphaba had _made_ it possible, she had to do this by herself.

"Don't help me."

Adjusting her feet, Nessa lifted herself up again, squealing with glee.

"Oh Nessa. At last, I've done what long ago I should," Elphaba exclaimed in awe. "And finally from these powers something good."

Nessa stood where she was for a moment, simply because she could. She committed everything to memory; the air on her skin, what it felt to bear weight on her legs, to stand up and see the world as others did. To not have to depend on anyone to live your life. To be free.

This was what it felt like to be normal.

Her father had never been worried about her condition. In fact, given the part Elphaba had played in it, he had treated it almost as a gift; or at the very least an excuse to indulge Nessa any way he could. But even all the affection he had given his daughter throughout her life could not take away the fact that she was disabled.

But now, none of that mattered anymore.

Elphaba had indeed done something good. And because of that Nessa could now truly start making good.

Her future was unlimited.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this. As someone with a disability myself, Nessa has always intrigued me. I do think she is spoiled, shallow and self-absorbed, but I like to believe she is aware of these facts even if she won't do much about them.**


End file.
